‘Pre-loved’ items show a spike in sales as the cost of living soars
Charity shops all report a huge increase in footfall
CHARITY shops across the country have seen an increase in both spending and donations with an upturn in people seeking bargain buys amid the costof-living crisis.
Online banking app Revolut recently found that, because of soaring inflation, there has been an 8% decrease in shopping for new men’s and women’s clothing, but shopping for pre-loved items has increased by 60%.
Charity Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) has 234 shops around the country and all have seen a significant increase in footfall this year, mirroring the 20% in calls to the charity for help and support.
SVP retail development manager Dermot McGilloway said the charity’s shops are anticipating further increases in demand in the coming months as people prepare for the winter and Christmas.
He said: ‘Charity shops have become more acceptable in recent years and more so now as people struggle to pay their bills.’
Some SVP shops reported that the increase in customer traffic is not just from people on low incomes but also from professionals who are struggling to put food on the table with the far-reaching cost-of-living crisis hitting all walks of society.
Enable Ireland, a charity that supports children and adults with disabilities and their families, has also seen a significant rise in all 22 of its shops over the last few months.
The biggest increase in demand from customers was for children’s clothing, with sales up 250% since January.
A spokeswoman for the charity said that customers were keen to find good-quality children’s clothing, such as a warm coat for the winter.
‘We are also seeing new customers coming into the shop and we have a more diverse customer base than ever before. This year we are seeing a lot more younger shoppers (18-25) coming in,’ she added.
There are some differences between shops in cities and those in smaller towns.
She said: ‘In rural areas customers who previously might have come into town once a week to shop are coming in less now due to the cost of petrol.’
The charity has also seen an 83% increase in spending on clothing.
She said: ‘We have had feedback from customers saying they don’t want to spend as much on clothing and so shop with us to get betterquality items for less.’
‘New customers are coming in’
The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) and the Irish Cancer Society have also seen an increase in charity shop sales.
NCBI’s head of retail, Beverley Scallan, said: ‘Across our chain of 130 shops, trade has been strong over the last 12 months seeing double-digit sales growth across the chain. This can be attributed to factors including the conscious consumer choosing to move away from fast fashion and buying more sustainable, the growing trend on the high street for pre-loved, and the current economic impact that the consumer is faced with.
‘All categories’ performances remain strong on sales; however, ladies and homewares continue to go from strength to strength.
‘Our performance has been greatly helped by the significant increase in quality donations to stores and our warehouse which is double the volume of this time last year.’
The Irish Cancer Society’s general manager of retail, Paul Hughes, said: ‘We are noticing an increase in customers in our 21 charity shops across the country. It is difficult to say at this point if this is solely because of the costof-living crisis.
‘A growing interest in sustainable fashion and the circular economy is also driving greater numbers to our charity shops.’
The move towards purchasing second-hand clothing has become popular over the last few years as customers are becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of fast fashion.
It comes as this month, Oxfam Ireland is running its annual Second-Hand September campaign which encourages people to ‘dare to rewear’ and buy second-hand.
The charity has also seen more customer spending as well as an increase in donations, in particular high-quality clothing.
A spokeswoman for Oxfam said: ‘Comparing the last five months we have seen an overall basket increase of 7%. The bulk of this is through our donated product which would suggest the focus is on clothing. We believe that, postpandemic, much growth is due to an increase in the kindness economy and interest in the circular economy.’
Fast fashion still remains the most popular form of clothing, however, with Shein and Penneys at the top of the popularity list.
Consumer psychologist Dr Paul Marsden told the Mail that, in times of economic instability, many customers have a ‘frugal mindset’, turning to cheap fashion brands and forgetting to be environmentally conscious.